Excerpt from The Wedgwood Handbook: A Manual for Collectors; Treating of the Marks, Monograms, and Other Tests of the Old Period of Manufacture; Also Including the Catalogues, With Prices Obtained at Various Sales, Together With a Glossary of Terms These bear reference to the several editions of that simple, yet famous work, - namely, the first in 1773, the second in 1774, the fourth in 1777 (the third was a mere reprint of the second in French), the fifth in 1779, the sixth and last in 1787. Thus, by recollecting the dates of these several editions, the collector will, at a glance, ascertain, if not exactly at least approximately, the year in which a given cameo, intaglio, bas-relief, or portrait medallion appeared. This will, I hope, be found a valuable and novel feature of the Handbook, and one instantly ready to the eye of the inquirer. By this method every item has its date. I have classified the different kinds and styles of vases; and given fully, as I hope it will be found, not only their history, but also those characteristics of material, colour, ornament, and general finish, so necessary to the purpose of identification and arrangement. So far as I could, I have attached the date and designer's name to the more important bas-reliefs; and this would have been done to a much larger extent had the bills of Flaxman and other modellers been preserved. There will be also found a considerable and most interesting list of hitherto uncatalogued bas-reliefs. In the various papers relating to Wedgwood's fine art works, particularly in his letters to his partner, Mr. Bentley, nothing is more obvious than that a large number of his finest bas-reliefs, medallions, and cameos were submitted to a final process of high finish, which he terms "polishing." From 1775 till 1779, when the record of his letters fails us, his incessant efforts were directed towards hardening his jasper body, so that it might come out sharp from the moulds and be high in finish. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.